Heavy rain lashed the national capital Saturday, causing massive traffic jams due to waterlogging as vehicles had to negotiate flooded streets that exposed the civic bodies’ lack of preparedness.
Waterlogging was reported in several low-lying areas of the city while in some parts, rainwater flooded the basements of flats.
Within an hour of the showers, there was chaos on almost all arterial roads as traffic signals did not function properly and choked drains flooded the streets.
Trees in some parts of the city were uprooted in the heavy rainfall, causing disruption in power supply in some areas.
Bumper-to-bumper traffic was witnessed at major intersections such as ITO, Laxmi Nagar, Moti Bagh, Kashmere Gate, Munirka, Dwarka and Dhaula Kuan.
“There are reports of traffic jams from various areas in the city, we are collecting the data. Traffic jams have been observed due to waterlogging in areas like South Delhi, South Extension and New Delhi,” said DCP (Traffic) Bharti Arora.
Commuters had a hard time navigating the roads in most parts of the city as visibility also dropped a bit. Pedestrians were seen wading through streets flooded by rain water and overflowing drains.
“It took me 40 minutes to reach the Akshardham metro station from my home, a distance which I cover within five minutes every day. Traffic was moving very slow,” said Ridhi Chouhan, who works at a private bank in Noida.
People were stuck at metro stations and bus stops waiting for the showers to subside while autorickshaw and taxi drivers had a field day charging hefty sums from those in a hurry to reach office.
“I had to shell out Rs 180 (for an auto) from my home in Munirka to my office at Connaught Place Saturday. On normal days, the fare is not more than Rs 100,” said Ashok Ojha, who works at a telecom company.
The weather office, too, said they were collecting data about the rainfall.